Charles Beckham of Haynes and Boone Houston Named St. Mary’s University Distinguished Law Graduate

08/10/2010

SAN ANTONIO – Haynes and Boone Partner Charles A. Beckham, Jr. has been named a 2010 St. Mary’s University Distinguished Law Graduate, an honor presented to two alumni annually for outstanding achievements in the legal profession and dedicated service to St. Mary’s.

Mr. Beckham, a Houston-based bankruptcy and business restructuring lawyer with more than 25 years of experience, will be feted along with Bexar County Probate Judge Polly Jackson Spencer at an awards dinner Oct. 22 at San Antonio’s Westin Riverwalk Hotel.

“In their respective areas, Judge Spencer and Mr. Beckham have risen to the top of the legal field, not solely for their brilliant legal minds, but also for their untiring dedication as community servants," said Charles E. Cantú, St. Mary’s University School of Law dean. "They join past honorees as some of our brightest graduates who continue to bring respect and esteem to our alma mater.”

Mr. Beckham graduated from St. Mary’s University School of Law in 1979. At St. Mary’s he served as articles editor of the well respected St. Mary’s Law Journal. For the past five years, he has been recognized by Chambers USA as one of the leading practitioners in Texas for bankruptcy. He is a past chair of the State Bar of Texas Bankruptcy Law Section and is the current chair of the Texas Board of Legal Specialization Bankruptcy Law Commission. Mr. Beckham is also a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy.

In his practice, he assists debtors and creditors in all aspects of insolvency, both in and out of court. Mr. Beckham has extensive experience handling bankruptcies in a broad variety of industries, especially the energy, mining and power sector. He also has considerable experience with cross-border insolvency issues between the United States and Mexico. From 1991 to 1992, Mr. Beckham was president of the 20,000-member Texas Young Lawyers Association.

“It is humbling to receive this recognition from the law school that has meant so much to me,” Mr. Beckham said. “I owe a huge portion of my success to the education I received at St. Mary’s, and I am proud to call St. Mary’s my law school.”

Judge Spencer has served as judge for Bexar County Probate Court, Number One since 1990. She graduated from St. Mary’s School of Law in 1976 and began her career with Fulbright and Jaworski in Houston.

The Distinguished Law Graduate Award Dinner will be hosted by St. Mary’s Law Alumni Association President Elizabeth Rogers and Cantú. The St. Mary’s Law Alumni Association began presenting an award to a distinguished graduate of the Law School in 1981. Prior to 1981, the Distinguished Law Graduate was selected by faculty members of the Law School. The purpose of the award is to recognize those graduates who have rendered service to their clients and the legal community in accord with the spirit of the mission of the University and of the Law School.

Haynes and Boone, LLP is an international corporate law firm with offices in Texas, New York, California, Washington, D.C., Mexico City and Moscow, providing a full spectrum of legal services. With more than 525 attorneys, Haynes and Boone is ranked among the largest law firms in the nation by The National Law Journal, has been named one of the "Best Corporate Law Firms in America" (Corporate Board Member Magazine, 2001-2009) and is ranked as a “Top 20 Law Firm” for culture. The firm is consistently recognized for its commitment to diversity, ranking No. 38 among the top 100 firms with respect to minorities (MultiCultural Law Journal, 2010) and in the Vault.com top 20 with regard to both women and minorities (Vault, 2011).

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